Mountain Vista Fire District officials say concerns voiced by
residents at a recent fire board meeting about a fire station
closing, and the purchase of land and vehicles, are misplaced.

Scott Butler, Mountain Vista administrative chief, said one
issue raised was the potential closing of a Rural/Metro fire
station on Magee Road, just west of Oracle Road.

Mountain Vista contracts with Rural/Metro, leasing stations,
vehicles, personnel and equipment to provide fire protection within
the Mountain Vista district. Mountain Vista does not currently own
any fire apparatus, equipment or stations.

"At one time, we had four Rural/Metro stations providing service
to us, but currently it's only two," Butler said. "When Rural/Metro
signed an agreement with Golder Ranch Fire District to transition
fire protection for properties in the town of Oro Valley to Golder
Ranch, that agreement called for Rural/Metro to close two of their
stations. The station on Magee will be one of those to close."

In response, Earle Ruhnke, chairman of the fire district's board
of directors, said Mountain Vista purchased 3.3 acres on Magee Road
a half-mile west of the Rural/Metro fire station so the district
could construct its own station. Cost of the land is $500,000, he
said, and the district expects to close on the property by
mid-January.

Butler said the district studied what was needed in terms of
space and equipment, and determined the Magee Road station should
be approximately 19,000 square feet and have four full bays that
could accommodate eight vehicles. He noted those estimates are
preliminary, and might be modified once an architect is hired.

Mountain Vista, which broke ground on its first fire station on
Shannon Road Saturday morning (see related story), was formed in
November 2008 from a merger of three adjoining fire districts —
North Ranch-Linda Vista, Heritage Hills and La Cañada. In 2009,
Mountain Vista annexed 320 properties north of Lambert Lane and
Thornydale Road, and later in the year annexed property in Oro
Valley from Hardy Road south to the town line.

Phil Richardson, a Suffolk Drive resident who lives in the
district's most recently annexed area, raised concerns about the
land purchase and fire station closing, but now said he's received
a satisfactory explanation about the issues.

Another issue he raised involved the potential purchase of two
fire engines, at a cost of $480,000 each.

"Why are they buying fire engines they won't be using for a year
or two?" he asked.

Butler pointed out the board considered the purchase of the two
fire engines because it could save money by purchasing them before
Dec. 31, 2009. After that date, diesel engines, including those
used in fire trucks, are subject to more stringent federal
Environmental Protection Agency regulations, which will add cost to
the vehicles. Estimates vary, but some fire apparatus manufacturers
quote numbers in the $20,000 to $30,000 range added per vehicle,
Butler noted, depending on the type of engine ordered.

However, Mountain Vista did not purchase the vehicles.

"We do have the capital funds well in excess of the purchase
price of two vehicles already set aside, so there would be no rate
impact," Butler pointed out.

"We have $1.2 million set aside for the purchase of vehicles and
we expect to put another several hundred thousand dollars into
capital equipment this year," Butler added.

While Richardson said his questions were answered
satisfactorily, he still is worried that no one is watching the
activities of the fire board.

"My main concern is the fact that there are few people watching
the board and what they are doing," Richardson said. "They fly
below the radar screen and do what the law allows them to do, but
they're required to let the public know what they are doing and
what they are spending."

Richardson said he is trying to organize a group composed of
people from all fire districts in southern Arizona, but has not
recruited anyone else yet.

Board chair Ruhnke pointed out that all board meetings are
public and notices are placed according to law, welcoming district
residents to attend.

As for the future, Ruhnke wants to be sure district residents
are "totally covered at all times, which is why we're building our
own fire houses and plan on purchasing apparatus. That way we own
them and if anything happens to the organization we contract with,
residents are protected financially."

Ruhnke predicted the Shannon Road fire house will come in under
budget because the original cost was $250 a square foot, but with
the downturn in construction, current costs are $200 a square foot.
He said the district could use the saved funds to purchase
equipment.